Rail fastener



Patented Mar. 27, 1923.

HARLEY n. CHASE, or sYcAMonE, ILLINOIS.

RAIL FASTENER.

Application filed October 21, 1922. Serial No. 596,031.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARLEY E, CHASE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sycamore, in the county of De Kalb and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Fasteners, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to rail fasteners and has for itsprincipal object to provide means for fastening the ends of railstogether so as to prevent their accidental displacement without thenecessity of using nuts and the like as is now commonly the case, whichexperience has taught to have a tendency to become loose causingaccidents and the like.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a rail fastenerwhich may be readily assembled and disassembled, which is efiicient andreliable in construction, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, andwell adapted for the purpose for which it is designed.

WVith the above and other objects in view as will appear as thedescription progresses the invention resides in certain novel featuresof construction, and combination and arrangement of parts as will behereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawing- Figure l is an elevation of one fish plate forming partof my invention,

Figure 2 is a bottom plan thereof a portion thereof being shown insection,

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken through the rail fastener assembledwith a rail,

Figure 4 is a perspective of the wedging device used in conjunction withthe invention,

Figure 5 is a detailed section taken through a wedge and fish plateshowing clearly the means for preventing the accidental displacement ofthe wedge, and

Figure 6 is an elevation of two rails with my fastening device holdingthem together in end to end relation.

Referring to the drawing in detail it will be seen that this fasteningdevice contemplates the holding of the two rails 1 in end to endrelation so as to be in alignment with each other and consists of a pairof fish plates 2 which in the present illustration are each constructedwith four apertures. The apertures adjacent one end are adapted toreceive the bars 3 having annular channels 4 adjacent their ends. Thesebars 3 extend inwardly from the fish plate to which they are attached.The other apertures 5 are disposed so as to receive the ends of thebars3 on the fish plate on the opposite side of the rail. The fish platesare provided with a serles of vertically extending grooves or,

notches 6 adjacent the end aperture which receives the end bar 3 for apurpose to be hereinafter described.

A wedge member 7 is constructed with a longitudinally extending slot 8which is provided with a transversely extending enlargement 9 and asimilar enlargement 10. The enlargement 9 is disposed intermediate theends of the wedge member while the enlargement 10 is disposed at thesmaller end of the wedge. These enlargements are provided so that thebars 8 may be passed therethrough until the wedge may be engaged withthe annular grooves 4 thereof. The wedge is also provided at itsenlarged end on its inclined face with a tooth ll engageable with thegrooves or notches 6.

In assembling the device the fish plates are disposed one on each sideof the rails to be connected together and held in place by spikes (notshown) engaging notches 12 provided in the base of the fish plates Thebars 3 are then extended through the fish plates and through the railsas are the ordinary bolts now commonly used. The wedges are then engagedwith these bars and are driven by hammers toward each other there beingone wedge situated on each, side of the rail and as these wedges aredriven toward each other the teeth ll'thereof will engage with thenotches 6 thereby locking-the wedges against accidental displacement.These wedges it will be understood bind the fish plates tightly againstthe web of the rail and efiiciently hold the rails in alignment witheach other at the same time bracing them and it will also be noted thatthe wedges are practically immune from accidental displacement.

' Having thus described my invention what I claim as new is 1. Incombination, a pair of fish plates, bars passing through the fish platesand extended therebeyond and provided with annular grooves, a pair ofWedge members provided with longitudinally extending slots, a toothextending from the slanting surface of each wedge member, said fishplates provided with notches engageable by said tooth, one wedge memberprovided on each outer face of each fish plate being in engagement withthe annular grooves of the bars.

2. In combination, a pairof fish plates, bars passing through the fishplates and extended therebeyond and provided with annular grooves, apair of wedge members pro vided with longitudinally extending slots, atooth extending from the slanting surface of each wedge member, saidfish plates provided with notches engageab le by said tooth,

one wedge member provided on each outer face of each fish plate being inengagement with the annular grooves of the bars, said longitudinallyextending slot of eachwedge member being provided with an enlargement.

In testimony whereof I'afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

HARLEY E. CHASE. \Vitnesses:

Ross MILLET, DORAH ANDERSON.

